Food production made possible by players in the agriculture and fisheries sector is just as significant as the war the country is facing against COVID-19, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

"We are heartened that during the 21st teleconference of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), we approved 'that all agriculture and [fisheries contributors] must be considered frontliners, and their movements shall remain unhampered,'" DA Secretary William Dar said in a statement Saturday.

"Indeed, now more than ever, our food security frontliners—farmers, fishers, and other workers in the food value chain—will play a crucial part in our fight against COVID-19," he added.

Dar said it is important to empower the country's frontliners in agriculture and fisheries to ensure continuous and unhindered food production.

He also acknowledged the Task Force for approving projects that support the cause. These include the Plant, Plant, Plant Program, which aims to improve food adequacy levels through increased rice, food crops, livestock, poultry, and fish production. Part of this is the Rice Resiliency Project, which is intended to boost the production of palay (rice that has not been husked) by the end of the year.